Your trusted source

The world media has bypassed the news that Georgian Interior Ministry has detained two thousand 790 kilograms of "liquid heroin" during a search of a truck on the route from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia.

It is unlikely that someone could smuggle drugs that cost about $ 170 million throughout the transit chain not having very high patron from national government, reads Azerbaijani news portal "Minval.az."

"Catching the trail of international drug trafficking, our customs could act differently - the president would give them a medal, the president could have appointed them on positions but now it appears they have missed the celebration of their lives. They let down also the head of the state, who could somewhere in Kabul or in Palermo boast that his special services have conducted an operation, which has no analogues in the world," the author writes.

It is noted that none of the press services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of National Security, Border Guard and the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan gave essential answers to the questions of the journalists. Representative of the border control service E. Nagiyev told the "Yeni Musavat” newspaper that this product either has never crossed the state border, or has been declared as a transit cargo crossing the border under interstate agreements. In other words this means putting the responsibility on the shoulders of the customs.

"Afghan drug trafficking is the most popular one in the world. Azerbaijan is one of its major transit points, and the abovementioned operation is no exception to the rule. According to international experts, among the transit routes there are Iran - Azerbaijan - Georgia - Black Sea with delivery to Europe, Iran - Azerbaijan - Russia - Baltic States with delivery to Europe, as well as Iran - Azerbaijan with delivery to Russia,", reads the article.

The author notes that there is another, less known route from Afghanistan, according to the scheme of Iran - Azerbaijan - Russia - Ukraine - Europe; Iran - Azerbaijan - Turkey - Ukraine - Europe. Azerbaijani border guards, police and customs officers several times in a year take trail of second-rate drug traffickers and seize half-ton of the maximum substances; most of it is marijuana bushes. They have no great achievements yet.

"Maybe when the country's leadership will sign Association Agreement with the EU, it will get the approval of seizing and returning the turnover of large quantities of heroin. I cannot believe that someone could smuggle drugs in such volume (wholesale price is about U.S. $ 170 million), not having a high enough patron with ties in national government throughout the whole transit chain," the author stresses.

According to WikiLeaks data of 2010, one of the reasons for the growth of the rate of drug trafficking is that the more than the half of the Russian market is controlled by the natives of Azerbaijan.

It is also noted that the fight against drug trafficking in Azerbaijan is very weak, there is no clear system of medical training, the doctor-narcologists are prepared for the Psychiatry Departments, moreover there are no such lessons as problems to reduce harm from drugs and drug addiction.